Starting from 11gR2, OWB has adopted the Fusion Client Platform (FCP), which is the same IDE platform as Jdeveloper and SQL Developer. FCP provides an efficient and flexible way to manage navigators, panels and editors. When we login to OWB Design Client the first time, we have a interface as shown in fig 1. Projects Navigator, Locations Navigator, Globals Navigator, Graphical Navigator and Structure Explorer are bundled on the left. The main window is a Start Page, which links to many useful documentations as well as online resources, and is a good place to get started.
Fig. 1
With 11gR2, multiple editors can be opened for editing at the same time. Take a look at fig 2, we have two mapping editors and one table editor. Projects navigator is minimized for better utilization of screen space, while Property Inspectors and Component Palette are docked for easier manipulation of mappings and access to component properties. All panels and editors can be dragged, resized, or docked as preferred, and the layout is fully customizable. If you would like to change the overall window layout, you can go to menu Tools->Preference->Environment->Dockable Windows.
Fig. 2
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However, in rare cases, the layouts just get messed up. For instance, Property Inspector is gone missing. Fortunately, we can restore the factory default layout by removing the layout setting files. There was a post talking about this, but as time goes by, the content is outdated and may not be applied to 11gR2. Let's look into how to fix this in 11gR2.
1. Locate the settings directory.
On Linux, it is "~/.owb" (aka $HOME/.owb). This is a hidden folder under your home directory. Suppose your login handler is "tom", and you started OWB Design Client before, the setting directory for you sould be "/home/tom/.owb".
On Windows, it is "%APPDATA%/OWB". Depending on Windows version and configurations, it should be something like "C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\OWB" on Windows XP.
(Note: For earlier releases, "$OWB_HOME/owb/bin/admin" is used.)
2. Change current working directory to the settings direcotry and delete setting files.
Under the settings directory, there is a folder named system11.2.0.X.X, where X.X is version numbers. Usually on a fresh install, you only have one folder, but if you upgraded from previous versions, there might be more than one. By removing these folders, the layout will be restored to factory defaults.
Following is an example on how to remove the setting directory from command line. If you prefer, you can also use a GUI explorer instead, but make sure hidden files are shown.
On Linux:
$ cd ~/.owb $ ls system11.2.0.1.85 $ rm -rf system11.2.0.* $
On Windows:
>cd %APPDATA%/OWB >dir 08/28/2009 01:54 PM <DIR> system11.2.0.1.85 >del /s /f system11.2.0.* >
Now, if you start the Design Client, you should see the factory default layout as shown in fig 1 again. And don't worry. Your data stored in database repository are kept safe and untouched.
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